Observe a laboratory activity or base your answer on past visits. How does your CT conduct a typical laboratory activity? How does he or she open the activity and organize student groups? How do students learn what they're expected to do during the period? Reflect on your reading about inquiry and your experience with the NECAP inquiry task. How did the laboratory activity you observe prepare students for the type of activities that might show up on the NECAP in the future? What inquiry elements would you strengthen? What science practices do you want to stress when you're teaching?
During my last visit, my cooperating teacher facilitated a computer-based inquiry activity in one of her classes. She began by asking students what they knew about the structure of an atom. Students with ideas were encouraged to draw their representation of an atom on the board and explain it. After a few minutes, a variety of very different ideas was on the board. My cooperating teacher then told the students that an online simulation would allow them to learn more about atomic structure. She allowed the students to self-select groups of two. After accessing the online simulation website on classroom computers, students built their own atoms out of protons, neutrons, and electrons. The program then gave information about the created atom (name, charge, stability, etc.) based on the student-made configuration. My cooperating teacher and I then asked students to create specific atoms and checked the final products for correctness. The students were also allowed to access a game on the simulation website, and a class competition followed.
This activity stressed the idea that atoms exist in more than one state and that the state of an atom is dependent on a multitude of factors. It encouraged critical thinking and the consideration that many variables influence not only the final outcome, but also one another. This activity also gave students the opportunity to relate existing knowledge to new material.This connection-making allowed students to more deeply understand the relationships among atomic components. The activity helped students to develop critical thinking and inquiry skills that are highly applicable to standardized tests like the NECAP. I liked this activity because it encouraged students to think critically about each individual problem instead of coaching them to identify and respond to particular situations within the problems. When teaching, I would like to also promote this style of productive and inquisitive critical thinking. I would like to further this style of thinking by helping students realize that it is applicable to many kinds of problems, not only the problems covered for class. Critical thinking is universally applicable, and students should be encouraged to apply their thinking skills wherever they can.
Observation/Reflection #3: A Matter of Style
During my last visit, my cooperating teacher facilitated a computer-based inquiry activity in one of her classes. She began by asking students what they knew about the structure of an atom. Students with ideas were encouraged to draw their representation of an atom on the board and explain it. After a few minutes, a variety of very different ideas was on the board. My cooperating teacher then told the students that an online simulation would allow them to learn more about atomic structure. She allowed the students to self-select groups of two. After accessing the online simulation website on classroom computers, students built their own atoms out of protons, neutrons, and electrons. The program then gave information about the created atom (name, charge, stability, etc.) based on the student-made configuration. My cooperating teacher and I then asked students to create specific atoms and checked the final products for correctness. The students were also allowed to access a game on the simulation website, and a class competition followed.
This activity stressed the idea that atoms exist in more than one state and that the state of an atom is dependent on a multitude of factors. It encouraged critical thinking and the consideration that many variables influence not only the final outcome, but also one another. This activity also gave students the opportunity to relate existing knowledge to new material.This connection-making allowed students to more deeply understand the relationships among atomic components. The activity helped students to develop critical thinking and inquiry skills that are highly applicable to standardized tests like the NECAP. I liked this activity because it encouraged students to think critically about each individual problem instead of coaching them to identify and respond to particular situations within the problems. When teaching, I would like to also promote this style of productive and inquisitive critical thinking. I would like to further this style of thinking by helping students realize that it is applicable to many kinds of problems, not only the problems covered for class. Critical thinking is universally applicable, and students should be encouraged to apply their thinking skills wherever they can.